Human Purpose and Transhuman Potential: A Cosmic Vision of Our Future Evolution

by Ted Chu

In another sense, however, evolution is not “ruthless” but rewards cooperation. We have seen a lot of discussion and stories centered on the question of whether selfish superhumans (or human-like machines) will overpower the unselfish ones. Here, natural and cultural history both show the counterintuitive results: The ones who cooperate as if they are endowed with the big picture tend to prevail, under the aegis of what the mathematical biologist Martin Nowak calls the altruistic law of evolution and what evolutionary theorist Robert Wright calls the non-zero logic of human destiny. Evil, with its biological origins in predator/parasite behaviors, can cause huge damage and suffering, but it has never prevailed in history. Why do we want to bet that billions of years of evolution will be structurally different if we continue to follow the principles underlying that process? The confidence at the macro level, of course, should not prevent us from being cautious at the tactical level and recognizing the utter importance of self-preservation.